Klarinet Archive - Posting 000538.txt from 1999/07
From: "Carl Schexnayder" <carlsche@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Artist Instruments from Local Stores
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 1999 04:30:44 -0400
Hi,
I understand exactly what you're up against. Not only must you charge
higher prices, but you must charge tax. I recently bought two saxophones
for my son, who attends the University of Southern Mississippi. I bought
them from the local music store in Hattiesburg, (Mississippi Music, who gave
me really good prices), and had them shipped to me in Louisiana and got out
of paying the taxes that way. Of course, then I had to drive to Hattiesburg
to deliver them to my son.
I really hardly ever deal with the local music store, but I used to! When
the local music store was willing to sell instruments to the school and
progessional instruments to high school students at their cost, (these
instruments would not be kept in stock), then the elementary schools would
buy their students instruments there and I and my students would go there
for accessories and books, etc.
The thing is, if I had to pay retail for school instruments and high school
students had to pay retail for professional instruments, the school would
have very few professional instruments and I would hardly ever have a
student with a professional instrument. That would not be at all acceptable
to me! We have to scrounge around for any money we spend and all the money
we spend is provided by our Band Booster Organization!
If school boards valued music more, they would provide us with the funding
to obtain and maintain a quality set of instruments, not to mention
uniforms, music and normal transportation, especially to events which we are
required to attend!
I don't know how to solve the problem, but I think some kind of compromise
is called for!
Carl Schexnayder
I understand what you are all saying about local music stores, and the most
part you are right.
I am a small local independent in Florida and basically cater to band
instruments, especially clarinets and saxes. I am also a repair technician
with about 25 years experience. I just recently opened here(approx. 2
years) and visit all the schools. I have seen many rentals from the other
company's, and I feel bad for the kids, many of them quit, since they think
its them, not the instrument. . Some of these instruments, I can't even
play, because of the lack of proper set up before the kids get it. There
is also a lack of professional repair technicians, even with school
repairs, many instruments have to be sent back to the other companies 3 or
4 times and they still don't get it right. Many of the educators will
still use these companies no matter what, because they offer them
perks.(especially a chain)
As far as the prices on some of the instruments from a local store.
You have to understand, that our buying power is not as great and our volume
is considerably low compared to a chain store or mail order company. It is
true that I offer much better repair services than my competitors and try to
be competitive as possible. I've have been looking at some of the catalogs
from mail order companies, and can't believe the prices. Some of these
instruments are cheaper or within a few dollars from the mail order
companies than from the instrument company. A small independent can't
afford to drop $20,000 to $50,000 or even more, when the instrument
companies offer specials, especially the pro models. If these instruments
are not sold within 90 days they accrue interest. Eventually small
independents, will not be able to carry the major brands. Would you lay
out $1,800 for possibly 3 months to make $25.00(not including 3 months of
overhead). I also forgot about bench time to set up instrument, what is
that worth? This is why a small local store has to charge a more for the
same instrument.
Aaron Hayden,
Hayden Musical Instruments.
----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin Fay (LCA) <kevinfay@-----.com>
Subject: [kl] Artist Instruments from Local Stores
> Cindy Field opined:
>
> <<<I have to agree with Margaret. Mail order is great for many things, but
> you take your chances with a clarinet. Unless you can tweak the instrument
> yourself or can pay someone locally to provide that service, you might be
> better off visiting a GOOD music store where they know clarinets. (I'm not
> referring to the local guitar shop that happens to carry some
clarinets.)>>>
>
> I must respectfully disagree. I have purchased a number of clarinets &
> saxophones from the Woodwind and IMS, and have not had one iota of damage
> that wasn't caused by shipping--and them always replaced with an undamaged
> instrument, no questions asked. All of the instruments that I have
> purchased from them worked fine out of the box; their repair people are at
> least as good as anyone I can hire here in Seattle. Of course, I get some
> tweaking done--but that's my problem.
>
> Conversely, I have found that many of the artist-level instruments in the
> local music chain stores to be "shop-worn"--after a few months of hanging
on
> the wall, being fondled by every high school clarinetist that drops by,
they
> are often horribly out of adjustment.
>
> There are "good" music stores out there. Here in Seattle, we are blessed
w/
> Steve Keene's Custom Music, and Tom Anderson's chain of Music Centers down
> in the Tacoma area. The vast majority of "music" stores, however, are
> staffed with morons who, while perfectly capable of helping you decide
which
> electric guitar has the loudest pickups, haven't a clue about which end of
a
> woodwind instrument one would blow in to. Of course they lie about that,
> cheerfully deceiving each band parent on the way in about how the
instrument
> they're selling at 100% markup is so great, and touting how their "service
> plan" will save you tons of money.
>
> As far as repair people go, in my experience it would be better to run my
> clarinet through a dishwasher than to hand it to the local shop's "repair
> person." I've found that the repair people who do the best work don't
work
> for the chain stores--they either work for themselves (like Steve Keene
> mentioned above) or band together in small shops catering to repair (like
> Dan Oberloh & Steve McComas here in Burien).
>
> Consequently, I think it foolish to spend an extra thousand bucks to buy
an
> artist-level instrument from a local music store, when you're going to
have
> to drive a ways to get to a decent repair person anyway. IMHO, you're
much
> better off saving the six or seven hundred bucks buying the horn from
Linda
> Argiris or Dennis Bamber (who, incidentally, sell enough artist-quality
> instruments to have a top-notch repair staff) and if necessary, getting it
> fine-tuned by the repair person of your choice.
>
> kjf
>
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